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A gripping and inspiring book, Civic Passionsexamines innovative leadership in periods of crisis in American history. Starting from the late nineteenth century, when respected voices warned that America was on the brink of collapse, Cecelia Tichi explores the wisdom of practical visionaries who were confronted with a series of social, political, and financial upheavals that, in certain respects, seem eerily similar to modern times. The United States--then, as now--was riddled with political corruption, financial panics, social disruption, labor strife, and bourgeois inertia.

Drawing on a wealth of evocative personal accounts, biographies, and archival material, Tichi brings seven iconoclastic--and often overlooked--individuals from the Gilded Age back to life. We meet physician Alice Hamilton, theologian Walter Rauschenbusch, jurist Louis D. Brandeis, consumer advocate Florence Kelley, antilynching activist Ida B. Wells-Barnett, economist John R. Commons, and child-welfare advocate Julia Lathrop. Bucking the status quo of the Gilded Age as well as middle-class complacency, these reformers tirelessly garnered popular support as they championed progressive solutions to seemingly intractable social problems.

Civic Passions is a provocative and powerfully written social history, a collection of minibiographies, and a user's manual on how a generation of social reformers can turn peril into progress with fresh, workable ideas. Together, these narratives of advocacy provide a stunning precedent of progressive action and show how citizen-activists can engage the problems of the age in imaginative ways. While offering useful models to encourage the nation in a newly progressive direction, Civic Passions reminds us that one determined individual can make a difference. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Fun book!
This was a fun book to read.It has a lot of things that you just DON'T think about, and even if you're going out on your own after a divorce, or just starting out, this book has a LOT of good advice! ... Read more

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According to Rev. McCray, it is the black young adults ages 17 to 24, especially the males, who will either make the Black Church and community or break them through their own broken lives. Here Rev. McCray presents meaningful and clear directions and workable ideas to help black youth grow into strong committed young adults. (Black Light Fellowship) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

It's okay.
This is not a scholarly or even research based book. It is purely the experience of the author, which is pretty substantial. It is a good resource, but does not hold the scholarly underpinnings that will make it stand the test of time.

DISCIPLESHIP
THIS BOOK CERTAINLY HITS THE NAIL ON THE HEAD. HERE WE FIND DIRECTION AND WORKABLE IDEAS TO REACH THE YOUTH IN OUR COMMUNITIES. REV MCCRAY STATED FACT THAT OUR YOUTH WILL NOT COME TO THE CHURCH COMMUNITY, BUT WE NEED TO MINISTER TO THE YOUTH WHERE THEY ARE! GO INTO THE WORLD AND TEACH. IF EVERYONE WOULD TAKE ON A SERVANT ROLE, WE COULD POSITIVELY EMPOWER THE NATION THROUGH OUR YOUNG PEOPLE. ... Read more

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Hieroglyphs are pictures used as signs in writing. When standing before an ancient tablet in a museum or visiting an Egyptian monument, we marvel at this unique writing and puzzle over its meaning. Now, with the help of Egyptologists Mark Collier and Bill Manley, museum-goers, tourists, and armchair travelers alike can gain a basic knowledge of the language and culture of ancient Egypt.

Collier and Manley's novel approach is informed by years of experience teaching Egyptian hieroglyphs to non-specialists. Using attractive drawings of actual inscriptions displayed in the British Museum, they concentrate on the kind of hieroglyphs readers might encounter in other collections, especially funerary writings and tomb scenes. Each chapter introduces a new aspect of hieroglyphic script or Middle Egyptian grammar and encourages acquisition of reading skills with practical exercises.

The texts offer insights into the daily experiences of their ancient authors and touch on topics ranging from pharaonic administration to family life to the Egyptian way of death. With this book as a guide, one can enjoy a whole new experience in understanding Egyptian art and artifacts around the world.Amazon.com Review
You need no previous experience reading hieroglyphs to benefitfrom this book. This is a hieroglyphs guide for the layperson,tourist, or museum enthusiast who'd like to have more of a clue whenit comes to understanding Egyptian hieroglyphs. Focusing on thefunerary symbols one would be likely to see in Egypt or at a museum,and illustrated with hieroglyphs that are on display in the BritishMuseum (drawn by Richard Parkinson, curator in the Department ofEgyptian Antiquities at the British Museum), How to Read EgyptianHieroglyphs makes possible a deeper appreciation not just ofmuseum displays but of the Egyptian culture that used this writingsystem.

Both experts in Egyptology (Collier teaches Egyptology at theUniversity of Liverpool, and Manley teaches the subject at theUniversity of Glasgow), they explain how most hieroglyphs are used toconvey the sound of the ancient Egyptian language, then go onto teach, in easily digestible segments, the basic phonograms(sound-signs) used in inscriptions a traveler or museum-goer would bemost likely to encounter. Each chapter teaches a new portion ofhieroglyphic script and a new aspect of the Middle Egyptian grammar,with a section to practice the new reading skills and exercises tosolidify the lessons taught. It provides a wonderful opportunity tosit at home and learn about the pharaonic administration, ancientEgyptian family life, and the Egyptian way of death, while building afirm understanding of the most common features of hieroglyphs.--Stephanie Gold ... Read more

Customer Reviews (77)

How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyps
I've been a student of ancient Egyptian history and hieroglyphs for many, many years and find this one of the most comprehensive tomes of Egyptian Hieroglphic writing and language around. I have a lot of material of this subject and highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to get a taste of this form of writing and literature before investing in other materials. It's written for the modern student in the Modern American language.

It Sucks and No Egyptologist Would Dare Be Seen Using It
I'm no Egyptologist, but I've lived in Egypt and studied many languages, including Egyptian. This book sucks on so many levels. The author himself admits that it's not really for people who are that serious about learning to read Egyptian. It's got that orientalist zeitgeist feel to it. Gardiner's Middle Egyptian is a much better book to buy. This one is just a bunch of commentary and squiggles. I hate the fact that most libraries would buy it before buying Gardiner's book.

How to read Egyptian Hieroglyphics
Excellent work book to begin the transliteration of Egyptian Hieroglyphics. Each chapter progresses onwards on knowledge and there are exercises to help practice this language. You will only achieve a basic understanding of this topic but this book is a valuable place to start.

The best introduction available
I studied Middle Egyptian as an undergraduate 30 years ago using Gardiner's Egyptian Grammar, written in 1927, and find Collier & Manley a refreshing way to review. It gets you reading inscriptions right away, which really boosts the ego. I am terrible at languages, and I enjoyed this book because it lets you hit the ground running. That said, there still is a lot of rote memorization, as there is in any language. You've got to learn many, many hieroglyphs. The easiest way is to learn new hieroglyphs as part of vocabulary, and drill them with flash cards. Collier and Manley generally provides for this.

Once you're done, the authors suggest other texts to continue, like James Allen's Middle Egyptian. I haven't read Allen but people tell me that it doesn't have quiz answers in the back (neither does Gardiner), which makes it tough for self-study. So I hope the authors will follow up with a sequel on texts: "How to Learn More Ancient Egyptian."

One problem: This book was not proofread very well. I see a lot of variant writings and typos, even in the second edition. This is a worry in a linguistics book. But students should know early on that there are a lot of variant writings in Egyptian; there doesn't seem to have been a scribal corps of copy editors, and the language was used for thousands of years and evolved over time.

Ignore the Pedantic Twits - This Book is a Great Stepping-Stone
Some of the negative reviews here strike me like a math professor coming to my grandma's book club to blazingly ridicule "Calculus for Dummies".

The book focuses on Middle Egyptian inscriptions, mostly formulaic, enabling the student to become familiar with basic phonetics, formulae and some phrase structures. It is NOT a comprehensive grammar, nor a general scholarly introduction, nor a reference manual in any way; it is a self-contained world with the goal of rewarding curiosity and passion with the ability to read some basic things.

After completing this book, one may want to consider some of the critiques. While there were a few basic errors in the original version, most of the 'errors' other reviewers have pointed out are actually well within the scope of scholarly license and these kinds of disagreements are very common in ancient-language scholarship - as is thick-headed and dismissive opposition to new analyses.

In any case, I have studied a dozen or so languages in my day and this book enabled me to begin a serious foray into Egyptology and I am eternally grateful to Mr. Collier and Mr. Manley for making it a fun and rewarding experience. ... Read more

Product Description
Field education is at the heart of social work education. However, for anyone who is a field instructor or for anyone teaching field instructors, there has not been a useful, up-to-date textbook available to guide field instructors for quite some time. Learning to Teach, Teaching to Learn is for field instructors and for students. The book lays out, step-by-step, how to achieve a quality field education experience for both students and field instructors by placing the field instructor student relationship as central to achieving learning goals and objectives. This how-to in field instruction is a book no field instructor or student can go without. ... Read more

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From the rise of the WNBA to the newly-crowned women'sWorld Cup champions, female athletes are proving they can be every bitas talented and hard-working as their male counterparts. Yet even aswe gear up to greet the new millenium, the old questions remain: Arewomen really as competitive as men? How do men's and women'sperspectives on sports differ? Is one viewpoint more productive thanthe other?

In his new book, A Woman's Touch, author David Canning Epperson usesanecdote, evidence and testimony to bring to light the beginning of anew era in athletics, a melding of male and female perspectives thatwill guide sports policies and practices into the 21stcentury. Whether you belong to the Culture of Conquest, the Culture ofCare, or fall somewhere in between, this is one book no one involvedin the sports experience--and no student of sociology or women'sstudies--can afford to miss. ... Read more

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Join this mother and educator as she searches to find a more effective way to teach her child to read. While embarking on a great adventure of learning she finds strength and wisdom never imagined.This writing is a reflection of the journey she took; how she changed the course of her daughter's life and the students she teaches. It tells of the knowledge she gained and how she is now sharing her findings with others who are searching for a more effective and efficient way to teach all children to read at their highest potential. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

enlightening book
I this book gave me hope and insight into what was going on with my son.I loved it and shared it with many friends. ... Read more

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In today's increasingly culturally and socially diverse society, there is a need for teacher education to keep abreast of current trends. Verma aims to provide a basic introduction to the issues of inequality in teacher education affecting many of today's societies. It is obvious that in spite of the vast amount of time and effort given to this over the last two decades, very little progress has been made. In this climate, the authors of this book attempt to highlight examples of good practice worldwide, demonstrating how such practice can be maintained and enhanced. This book is intended for teachers in initial and in-service training, teacher trainers and administrators. ... Read more

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The author of Cyberia explains how the media culture of today's youngsters is preparing them for the future and for a world in which surprise is constant and information pours in rapidly from hundreds of sources. $50,000 ad/promo. Tour.Amazon.com Review
Just yesterday I read in the Busines Section of the NewYork Times that Rushkoff currently gets paid as much as $7,500 perhour to explain to VPs and CEOs of major corporations how to survivein a marketplace increasingly dominated by "channel-surfinggen-Xers". Whether you are a marketing mogul or one of theexplicands curious about how your core being is beingportrayed to media mavens, this is a book you should read -- if you'vegot the time.

Why the caveat? Much of his argument is that the much-dreaded"short attention span" is an adaptive response to amedia-saturated world, which is probably no big surprise to you as anInternet user. But Rushkoff does have a way of making this andother seemingly basic arguments into a compelling and insightfulbook. My overall advice?Turn down any opportunities you might haveto pay his $7,500 fees, and read a copy of this book instead. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Witty, Erudite Look At Channel Surfing Culture
After the success of 'Media Virus' (1994), the pressure was on emminent cultural critic Douglas Rushkoff to deliver the goods with a powerful follow-up.

'Playing The Future' (released as 'Children of Chaos'elsewhere) has many intriguing topic including the study of Dungeons &Dragons and VR; Youth Subcultures (Goth, Skateboarding, Television,Computer Games); the longterm effects of new media shows; and the rise ofAttention Deficit Disorders. Rushkoff dares to suggest with the last thatthey may be useful as 'coping strategies' for the postmodern era of theindividual drenched in UV ray computer monitor glows.

'Playing TheFuture' was marred by publisher errors that saw the book not promoted muchin the U.S., although it was well received elsewhere. There was also aninevitable backlash against Rushkoff when a comment regarding aUS$7500/hour fee from a single seminar was mentioned offhand during aninterview and then promoted as Rushkoff selling out Generation X secrets tofaceles trans-national monoliths. Rushkoff had forseen the growth of theInternet in 1989 and delivered much early ground-breaking work oncyberculture.

These public debates do not diminish the power of 'PlayingThe Future', which is crisply written and features many unique insightsinto the rise of Youth Culture and the future trajectory path of theHumanities. Rushkoff is not scared to take on institutions such as theconservative factions of the Christian Church and show that they arefailing to adjust to the needs of youth in the contemporaryenvironment.

'Playing The Future' will be re-released in late 1999 as'Children of Chaos' within the United States. Rushkoff's insights andarguments have largely been on-track since the book's initial release.

Channel surfing the planet with a witty genius friend

The blurb on the back of hardcover version of this book really says it all:This book is "like channel surfing the planet with a witty genius friend who can explain the pattern that connects it all together" (Mark Frauenfelder, Online editor, Wired magazine).

The book is reads like a compilation of short sections, each of which deals with an issue to do with our current culture.Since he is a media analyst, much of Rushkoff's emphasis is on the media and modern technology.His contention is that the world of today and the future is changing rapidly.We are moving from the Machine Age to the Information Age, and much of this move is being driven by the media, and underpinned by changing technologies.Many older people are afraid of these changes and are doing all within their power to stop or at least slow it down, and are lamenting the change in attitudes and involvement of young people.

Rushkoff contends that we are disadvantaging young people today by not allowing this technology to develop and impact our lives, and that by fighting against it, we are diminishing the ability of our children to survive in the new world.He has an evolutionary basis of thought, believing that technology is the key to a new jump in man's evolutionary development.Although we may not agree with him on this point, whether we believe in evolution or not, we must agree with his assessment of the future - that the world is changing very rapidly and is not the same place it used to be.We need to adapt and change in order just to survive, let alone successfully manage the future.

Rushkoff looks at issues such as snowboarding, skateboarding, comics, movies, Star Trek, Barney, Dungeons and Dragons and other role-playing games, Goths culture, the media, video games, the Internet, UFO abductions, and many other examples of modern culture and it's effects.

In each of these views of issues, he highlights how the issue demonstrates the shift from the Machine Age to the Information Age, and how it shows the need for less structural controls and more "grass roots level" involvement of people.He maintains that "chaos" is the only legitimate basis for the new culture.By this, he means an organismic interaction between people, by means of technologically advanced equipment.The Internet provides the best example of how communities of like minded individuals will develop and self-regulate their activities.This is his view of how all structure within society should work, from government, to media and everything.We need to be free of all restraints and governance from above.

Whether this optimistic view of humanity's ability to do this is well-founded or not, as Christians there is much good to be gained by an analysis of Rushkoff's work.He often refers to the church, and correctly points out the weaknesses of the existing church in the new era of chaos.He even has some good ideas for churches.But his book's value is that it helps us to put practical examples onto our understanding of a changing youth culture.His book provides valuable material for analysis of modern youth culture, and for planning short to medium term strategies for the future.It also provides those who want to change with some good counter-arguments against the nay-sayers and those afraid of the future.

This is a well researched book, which I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

Inspiring ideas about the media-culture we are living in
Beside some the One-Thing-Ideas (e.g. in context with holography)and some strange humanistic ideas, mainly at the end of the book, it is extremely inspiring and gives unconventional ideas and thoughts about the culture we are living in. Many things like TV or politics or the combination between technics and human culture are seen from a vital counterpoint - just in contrary to usual moralistic opinion. ... Read more

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This collection addresses the phenomenon of lesbian/gay studies in education from a variety of political and pedagogical perspectives. Section one offers perspectives from college and high school educators and reflects on classroom dynamics, lesson plans and strategies. Section two covers educational politics outside the classroom and addresses questions of job security, professional history and academic guidance. These issues are placed in the context of disciplinary boundaries, tackling the questions raised by lesbian studies and notions of multiculturalism. ... Read more

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Much of the recent policy debate surrounding poverty in Britain focuses on income as a measure of living standards. In this report we consider one alternative to income for measuring poverty that has been largely overlooked in the mainstream poverty debate in the UK: namely household expenditure. Economic theory suggests that household expenditure is an important measure of financial well-being. Using 30 years of data from household surveys, this report: shows the trends in poverty in Britain since the 1970s when household expenditure is used as a measure of financial well-being, rather than household income; investigates how using spending, rather than income, as a measure of well-being alters our view of who is poor; examines the spending levels of the lowest-income households; and, analyses whether low-income pensioners' spending on basic and non-basic items increased as a result of the large increases in entitlements to means-tested benefits since 1999. The research will be of interest to civil servant policy-makers, academics and researchers working on poverty issues, and other groups with an interest in anti-poverty policies. ... Read more

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One of the biggest problems confronting those enteringindependent employment is learning to solve the myriad of smallproblems that come their way everyday. They often depend too much ontrainers or job coaches to solve their problems and manage theirbehaviors. This book presents a tested method for students to maintaingood work performance while they become less dependent on jobcoaches. This manual shows how to teach self-instruction in a varietyof work settings, even where students are interacting withcustomers. It includes four complete training scripts; forms formonitoring performance; and special instruction for peers teachingpeers, for group instruction, and for teaching people with limitedverbal skills. ... Read more

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This text provides lively and instructive true-life cases of challenging situations faced by teachers in traditional and special education classrooms. This case format is based upon the Harvard Business School case-based approach to instruction in which educational students decision-making skills are developed through analysis of practicing professionals problems portrayed in case studies. ... Read more